1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to an apparatus and method for telecommunications. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus and method for forwarding calls to a new telephone number when an old telephone number has been changed, and billing an appropriate party for completing the call.
2. Background Information
In conventional telephone communication systems, when a telephone company""s customer changes telephone numbers, a party calling the customer at the old telephone number receives a message informing the calling party that the number has changed. Typically, the message also informs the calling party of the new telephone number. In order to reach the customer, the calling party must then make note of the new telephone number, hang up and dial the new telephone number. Requiring the calling party to make note of the new number and redial the customer""s new number may be enough of an inconvenience to prevent the calling party from attempting to contact the customer a second time. For example, the calling party may forget the new number before dialing it or may already know a telephone number of a competing business. Thus, particularly if the customer is a business, the loss of potential callers, e.g., business customers, is highly undesirable.
Other systems such as directory assistance call completion are also available. Directory assistance call completion is a system having logic residing within a switch for forwarding calls to a requested telephone number. According to directory assistance call completion, a calling party calls directory assistance and provides information necessary to determine the telephone number of a destination party the calling party would like to contact. Then, directory assistance provides the calling party with the destination party""s telephone number and offers the option of completing the call to the destination for a fee which is paid by the calling party. The calling party may then agree to pay the fee and have the call forwarded or simply make note of the number, hang up and redial the destination telephone number. The directory assistance call completion service has a significant drawback in that the service operates within the switch, consuming valuable switch system resources.
Therefore, a need exists for a flexible call forwarding system which allows calls to be forwarded. The system should not operate at the switch level and should allow the option of billing either the calling party or the telephone company""s customer for forwarding calls.
In view of the foregoing, the present invention, through one or more of its various aspects, embodiments and/or specific features or subcomponents, is thus intended to bring about one or more of the advantages as specifically noted below.
A call forwarding system for an AIN telecommunications environment is provided in which a destination has changed from an old telephone number to a new telephone number, and a calling party places a call which attempts to contact the destination by dialing the old telephone number. The call forwarding system includes a locator that determines the new telephone number, a sponsor determiner, and a system. The sponsor determiner determines whether the destination has elected to pay for forwarding the call from the old telephone number to the new telephone number. When the destination has not elected to pay for forwarding the call, the sponsor determiner also determines whether an eligible calling party has elected to pay for forwarding the call from the old telephone number to the new telephone number. The system completes the call from the calling party to the new telephone number if either the destination or the calling party has elected to pay for forwarding the call.
According to a preferred embodiment, the call forwarding system also includes a hub system which analyzes the old telephone number and initiates an AIN trigger to an AIN platform if the old telephone number satisfies a predetermined criteria. The hub system includes a first central office and a hub central office. The first central office receives digits dialed by the calling party, prefixes a unique code to the received digits and subsequently forwards the prefixed received digits to the hub central office. The unique code causes the AIN trigger. The AIN platform determines an NPA of the dialed number based upon a code identifying the first central office and the unique code. A database is queried by using the received digits and the NPA to determine the new telephone number, and whether the destination has elected to sponsor the call forwarding. According to a preferred embodiment, the AIN platform includes a judging system which determines whether the calling party is eligible to pay for forwarding the call when the destination has not elected to pay for call forwarding. The judging system determines whether the calling party is served by the same telephone company as a telephone company serving the old telephone number. The judging system indicates the calling party is eligible to pay for call forwarding if the same telephone company serves the calling party. The judging system also determines a type of service/equipment utilized by the calling party and determines whether the calling party""s service/equipment complies with eligibility requirements, thereby making the calling party eligible to pay for forwarding the call. The judging system indicates the calling party""s eligibility if the service/equipment complies with the eligibility requirements.
The call forwarding system also includes ACU measurement that measures the usage of an ISCP central processing unit. Furthermore, if neither the calling party nor destination has elected to pay for forwarding the call, the call is not forwarded.
According to a preferred embodiment, a call forwarding system for an AIN telecommunications environment is provided in which a destination has changed from an old telephone number to a new telephone number. A calling party places a call which attempts to contact the destination by dialing the old telephone number. The call forwarding system includes a hub switch, and an old address switch with which the calling party connects to upon dialing the old telephone number. The old address switch, upon recognizing that the calling party has called a telephone number which has been changed, prefixes the old telephone number with a three digit code, and forwards the call, along with the prefixed old telephone number, to the hub switch. The hub switch recognizes the three digit code, and initiates a query to an AIN platform. The AIN platform determines the new telephone number and whether the destination has elected to pay for forwarding the call to the new telephone number. The AIN platform also determines whether the calling party has elected to pay for forwarding the call to the new telephone number when the destination has not elected to pay for forwarding the call. The AIN platform completes the call to a new telephone number switch if either the destination or the calling party has elected to pay for forwarding the call. If neither the destination nor calling party has elected to pay for call forwarding, the call is not forwarded.
A call forwarding method for an AIN telecommunications environment is provided in which a destination has changed from an old telephone number to a new telephone number, and a calling party places a call which attempts to contact the destination by dialing the old telephone number. The call forwarding method includes locating the new telephone number, and determining whether the destination has elected to pay for forwarding the call from the old telephone number to the new telephone number. When the destination has not elected to pay for forwarding the call, the method also includes determining whether an eligible calling party has elected to pay for forwarding the call from the old telephone number to the new telephone number. The method also includes completing the call from the calling party to the new telephone number if either the destination or the calling party has elected to pay for forwarding the call.
According to a preferred embodiment, the call forwarding method also includes receiving digits dialed by the calling party at a first central office, prefixing a unique code to the received digits, and forwarding the prefixed received digits to a hub central office where the unique code causes an AIN trigger to an AIN platform. The AIN platform determines an NPA of the dialed number based upon a code identifying the first central office, and the unique code. The call forwarding method also includes querying a database, with the received digits and the NPA as keys, to determine the new telephone number and whether the destination has elected to sponsor the call forwarding.
According to a preferred embodiment, the call forwarding method also includes judging whether the calling party is eligible to pay for forwarding the call when it is determined that the destination has not elected to pay for call forwarding. Furthermore, the call forwarding method includes judging whether the calling party is served by a same telephone company as a telephone company serving the old telephone number, and indicating the calling party is eligible to pay for call forwarding if the same telephone company serves the calling party.
The call forwarding method also includes determining a type of service/equipment utilized by the calling party, determining whether the calling party""s service/equipment complies with eligibility requirements, thereby making the calling party eligible to pay for forwarding the call, and indicating the calling party""s eligibility if the service/equipment complies with the eligibility requirements.
The call forwarding method also includes measuring the usage of an ISCP central processing unit. The call forwarding method also includes terminating the call when neither the calling party nor destination has elected to pay for forwarding the call.
A call forwarding method for an AIN telecommunications environment is provided in which a destination has changed from an old telephone number to a new telephone number, and a calling party places a call which attempts to contact the destination by dialing the old telephone number. The call forwarding method includes connecting to an old address switch upon dialing the old telephone number, and prefixing the old telephone number with a three digit code. Subsequently, the call is forwarded, along with the prefixed old telephone number, to a hub switch. The method also includes recognizing the three digit code at the hub switch and initiating an AIN trigger, determining the new telephone number and whether the destination has elected to pay for forwarding the call to the new telephone number. When the destination has not elected to pay for forwarding the call, the method also includes determining whether the calling party has elected to pay for forwarding the call to the new telephone number. The method also includes completing the call to a new telephone number switch if either the destination or the calling party has elected to pay for forwarding the call. If neither the calling party nor destination has elected to pay for forwarding the call, the call is terminated.
The above-listed and other features and advantages of the present invention will be more fully set forth below.